Culinaire #4:10 (april 2016)

CALGARY / FOOD & DRINK / RECIPES :: VOLUME 4 NO.10 :: APRIL 2016

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HONING YOUR KNIFE SKILLS

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16 VOLUME 4 / ISSUE #10 APRIL 2016

Features 16

Going to Market From Primal Grounds Cappuccino Bar – to Primal Soup Co. – to both Primal Soup and Primal Grounds, pioneer Margaret Nemeth has found her home

by Elizabeth Chorney-Booth

22 En garde!

A beginner’s guide to knives and knife-related implements, and the three mainstay knives that every layman cook should have in the kitchen

by Anna Brooks

25 Times Are A Changing With the current economic downturn, many bricks and mortar restaurants are getting creative with ways to fully utilise their kitchens

by Linda Garson

20 California Cool The new frontiers

by Peter Vetsch

38 Odds and Ends Broth … by saving those scraps!

by Dan Clapson

Departments 6

Salutes and Shout Outs

30 Citrus Beer Friends Four Alberta-made citrusy beers

by David Nuttall

40 Making the Case: for Argentine wines

by Tom Firth

8

Book Review

10

Off The Menu – Una’s Kale Caesar Salad

12

Chefs’ Tips – and Tricks!

18

Soup Kitchen

34

The Iconic Old Fashioned … that has stood the test of time

by Brice Peressini

42 Open That Bottle Karen Kho of Teatro Group

by Linda Garson

28 Step-By-Step: Nutella 32

35 Shoulder Season Wines: Wines for cool weather

by Jaclyn Adomeit

Spice It Up Cheesecake

On the Cover: Many thanks to Ingrid Kuenzel for unending patience, ideas and photography, and to Chef Daniel Pizarro and Avec Bistro for the mise, the knife and the knife skills!

3

Letter From The Editor

vibrant restaurant scene. Rumours abound of restaurant closures in the industry, but also new innovative ideas for keeping kitchens fully employed – the clever money is on more take-outs from established restaurants, and in particular, from those you expect least!

Nary a new restaurant has opened in the last year without some form of take-out window or program, and we’re looking at the latest innovative offerings to see how you can benefit from these ideas.

You’ll see in our round up of new openings in our Shout-Outs, how this is a recurring theme.

Welcome to April’s Culinaire magazine, the last issue before our 4th birthday!

Our other big news is that, with this issue of Culinaire, we are expanding into Canmore and Banff, and are readily available in both towns. We’re pleased and proud to sponsor Canmore’s Uncorked Wine Festival on April 16; it’s a sell-out event so I hope you already have your tickets!

It’s also International Malbec Day on April 17, and the Californian Wine Fair on April April brings us plenty to celebrate – of 26th, Canada’s largest wine tasting tour course we have our 2nd annual Treasure of Californian Wines, and we have you Hunt to look forward to on April 9th. This covered for both in this month’s issue. But was one of our biggest events last year our REALLY big news will be revealed next - we were trending on Twitter - and we month – watch this space for more details! can’t wait for the even bigger and betterorganised Treasure Hunt this year! I hope Cheers, you’ve already registered, as we have a Linda Garson, Editor-in-Chief

brazilian barbecue

It’s definitely an interesting time for the food and beverage scene in Calgary.

Increasing rents, property taxes, rising produce prices, and potential wage increases, are all taking their toll on our

finite cut-off for participants, and like last year, everyone goes home a multiple winner, having experienced one of the most memorable days in Calgary! Take no prisoners!

authentic.

The way it should be.

Experience the bold flavours and original taste of Churrasco, an authentic barbecue style made famous

by Gauchos - the cowboys of South America.

C A N MO R E

629 Main Street phone:403 .678.9886 C A L G A RY

100 5920 Macleod Trail SW phone:403 .45 4.9119

w w w. b r a z i l i a n b b q . c a

CALGARY / FOOD & DRINK / RECIPES Editor-in-Chief/Publisher: Linda Garson linda@culinairemagazine.ca Commercial Director: Keiron Gallagher 403-975-7177 sales@culinairemagazine.ca

Edmonton Sales Director: Lisa Wolansky 587-338-8780 lisa@culinairemagazine.ca Contributing Food Editor: Dan Clapson dan@culinairemagazine.ca Contributing Drinks Editor: Tom Firth tom@culinairemagazine.ca Digital Media Editor: Anna Brooks web@culinairemagazine.ca

Our Contributors < Peter Vetsch

Peter is a local lawyer by day and wine writer by night, pursuing his vinous passion by maintaining his own wine blog at popandpour.ca. He has earned his formal wine accreditation through the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET), where he obtained both Intermediate and Advanced Certificates with Distinction, and he is always on the lookout for the next way to learn about and experience wine (and the next good bottle to try).

Contributing Photographer: Ingrid Kuenzel Design: Emily Vance Contributors: Jaclyn Adomeit Anna Brooks Elizabeth Chorney-Booth Natalie Findlay Renee Kohlman Robyn Maclean Karen Miller Diana Ng David Nuttall Brice Peressini Peter Vetsch

To read about our talented team of contributors, please visit us online at culinairemagazine.ca.

Contact us at: Culinaire Magazine #1203, 804 -3rd Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2P 0G9 403-870-9802 info@culinairemagazine.ca www.facebook.com/CulinaireMagazine Twitter: @culinairemag Instagram: culinairemag For subscriptions, competitions and to read Culinaire online: culinairemagazine.ca

< Anna Brooks

Anna Brooks is Culinaire’s new digital media editor.

A Mount Royal journalism graduate, stories have pulled her overseas to pursue international work in India, Africa and Thailand. She has been published locally in Metro, FreeFall and BeatRoute magazine. She likes magical realism, wine and English cocker spaniels (well, just one English cocker spaniel). Follow her on Twitter @Anna_Brooksie

< Brice Peressini

Brice Peressini has turned his passion for food, drink, and travel into his profession.

When not writing about the culinary arts, he can be found mixing drinks at Chefbar or visiting one of his favourite bars or restaurants.

His favourite cocktails are Old Fashioneds, Manhattans, and Negronis. His favourite pastime is converting people to whisk(e)y.

All Trademarks presented in this magazine are owned by the registered owner. All advertisements appearing in this magazine are the sole responsibility of the person, business or corporation advertising their product or service. For more information on Culinaire Magazine’s Privacy Policy and Intention of Use, please see our website at www.culinairemagazine.ca.

All content, photographs and articles appearing in this magazine are represented by the contributor as original content and the contributor will hold Culinaire Magazine harmless against any and all damages that may arise from their contribution. All public correspondence, which may include, but is not limited to letters, e-mail, images and contact information, received by Culinaire Magazine becomes the property of Culinaire Magazine and is subject to publication. Culinaire Magazine may not be held responsible for the safety or return of any unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and other materials. Reproduction of this publication in whole or in part without written consent from Culinaire Magazine is strictly prohibited.

Salutes...

Hats off to Village Brewery … who have teamed up with nano brewery, The Dandy Brewing Company, to launch the first annual Village Friend, a 10% ABV Baltic Porter with deep and rich flavours of molasses and liquorice.

The collaboration will see part of the proceeds from this ale go to buying new pumps for Dandy, a huge upgrade for the brewers. “Things are going well for us and we want to do our part to support Calgary’s rising breweries,” says Village

Brewery’s Jim Button. We just love the concept – it’s soooo Calgary!

Congrats to SAIT Team … for their Meyer Lemon Mousse, winner of the 2016 Pastry Chef Showcase People’s Choice Award for favourite plated dessert, and to Bishwa Pati, the Calgary Petroleum Club, and the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis, who won the Chocolate Showpiece People’s Choice Awards. The event was an all-

round success, raising funds for L’Arche Calgary, and scholarships for SAIT Baking and Pastry Arts students. Great job all!

and Shout Outs...

The Unicorn returns!

Club for Carnivores A subscription to the Carnivore Club will see a box of 4-6 cured or smoked meats, with a combined weight of 1½-2 pounds, arrive on your doorstep each month. The club finds, sources and features Canadian artisans who make premium charcuterie from ethically raised animals. Some items will be traditional, alongside more unusual items – think water buffalo and cranberry salami! Each box comes with a handbook that describes that month’s featured artisan, explains what each meat is, and sometimes includes pairing suggestions. $50 a month includes the price of shipping, and supports local family farms – and it’s all Fair Trade too; they make sure the artisans are paid fairly for their quality meats. We approve! Check out carnivoreclub.co 6

After closing 11 months ago to make way for Quebec fashion retailer, Simons, The Unicorn Pub is back in business with its staff and many of its regular customers, just half a block away from its original premises. After nearly 36 years, this Calgary icon has joined forces with Below Deck Tavern and the Libertine to become a three-storey superpub, but still staying true to its cheerful, friendly and value-driven ‘everybody’ pub roots.

Welcome back!

Cluck and Cleaver

Cluck and Cleaver are open!

This long-anticipated chicken takeout spot is finally open, next to Boyd’s on 14th Street SW in a stand-alone building with parking behind – and they’re busy!

But we know why – sisters Nicole and Francine Gomes having been toying with the concept for 10 years – and

they’ve got it right! Choose either supercrunchy Southern Fried or juicy Classic Rotisserie chicken by the piece or box, and add a side of smoky chipotle lime, corn and bean salad, or creamy potato egg salad, crunchy coleslaw, and delicious baby roast potatoes that have soaked up all the juices from cooking with the chicken in the rotisserie! Hand-cut fries, fluffy buttermilk biscuits and gravy, and homemade cookies are all on offer too – and all at great prices. Yes, it’s definitely the year for tasty take-outs!

New Back Bar at Alloy My how time flies – Alloy restaurant have occupied their beautiful Bonnybrook/Manchester location for eight years, and have just renovated the rear dining room and bar area to become The Back Bar by Alloy. Now you can reserve a place at the bar or in one of the comfy booths for a casual drink before or after your meal. Bar manager and mixologist, Jake Hewitt, is putting his spin on classic cocktails, and chef/owner Rogelio Herrera has created a very tasty snack menu of predictably delicious tempura shrimp tacos, beef tartare nachos, tender pork belly sliders, crunchy nuts with togarashi and lime and more!

I NTRODUCING Eagle Block

A Farmer’s Wine. wine Every great story. tells a T his one starts with a farmer.

10 Foot Henry’s back where he belongs ...

- on the ground floor of the Eagle Block, where he spent 19 years upstairs in the Night Gallery. 10 Foot Henry is the brainchild of Aja Lapointe and Steve Smee, lately of Ox & Angela and Una, and a welcome addition to Victoria Park. Veggies are the star here, with meat as the supporting act; they’re serving up casual and creative ‘New North American’ comfort-food dishes - the way the couple eat at home. Grab a friend and share a few plates of mash with goat yogurt, ver jus and a fried egg - a sublime combination, or nibble some mushroom and kale tempura with two dipping sauces, or fresh and comforting roasted carrots and avocado with pistachio gremolata.

Bread is by Sidewalk Citizen and pasta is from Mercato, and all desserts are made in house. Wash it down with wine from the eclectic list, or one of five organic and Fair Trade coffees from Calgary’s original roaster – The Roasterie, or one of six loose-leaf teas from the Naked Leaf. See you there!

Book Review

by KAREN MILLER

Lick Your Plate

by Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat Appetite by Random House 2016 $32

Brussels sprouts and kale) and tempting desserts (try the Golden Apple Crisp with Salted Caramel Sauce on p. 275).

The Bite Me, Bite Me Too sisters are back, this time thankfully with a little less gimmick. Their cooking was always good, and their passion for sharing always evident, but it seems they have become more confident in their cooking.

The sisters have made an absolutely respectable version of a traditional Moroccan soup (Moroccan Chickpea & Lemon Couscous Soup p. 36) and who would not want to try their version of sticky buns (Luscious Lemon Sticky Buns, p. 243)?

Lick Your Plate is a cookbook a lot of us will want on our kitchen shelf, a compilation of recognizable recipes for family meals and entertaining alike. The sisters have still managed to convey their effervescent style, but the focus is on easy recipes anyone can do. These girls are happy in the kitchen!

The cookbook still has a good sense of humour, with catchy chapter titles and scattered quotes which will bring a smile to your face and do what they are intended to do - take the pressure off.

Enjoying the cooking process is what this cookbook is about, making it easy and good enough to lick your plate!

It would be hard not to find some old favourites or a style of cuisine you want to try. The recipes are not “authentic”

but they work - they are quick, and will satisfy your cravings. Very few recipes have preparation times in excess of 15 minutes, and the ingredients are easily found in our pantry. They incorporate many styles, from fast stir fries to slow cooker meals, healthy grains, a full range of vegetables dishes (yes, including

Karen Miller is a lawyer by trade, giving her a knack for picking apart a cookbook. She has taught many styles of cooking classes and was part of the Calgary Dishing girls.

: : Culinair e’s 2nd A nnual Tr easur e Hun t is Sa t ur da y, A pr il 9 t h! : : We’re beyond excited for another amazing day of foodies in Calgary racing round the city to find out what treats await at over 30 destinations – the vast majority of which are new for 2016!

Everyone went home a winner at our first annual Culinaire Treasure Hunt last year – and some were multiple winners! We were completely sold out, and it was so popular that we were trending on Twitter.

Trivia questions about the participating restaurants, markets and stores revealed the answers for where to dash off to receive your treat, get your passport stamped, and probably come away with a little culinary gift too!

And there are fabulous prizes for the people who visit the most locations, wear the best costumes, have the funniest team names, tweet the funniest photos… and lots lots more!

This year is going to be an even more fun and rewarding day - we hope you and a partner have signed up as a team of two and registered to join us, or signed up solo.

Visit culinairemagazine.ca/contests, follow us on Twitter @culinairemag for the latest details, and like us on facebook at facebook.com/ CulinaireMagazine to keep up with the news!

You may see yourself on television too this year — definitely another day to remember!  @culinairemag 8

 /CulinaireMagazine

 /culinairemag

 culinairemagazine.ca

DISCOVER CALIFORNIA WINES The largest tasting tour of California wines in Canada Also includes a silent auction of wines not available in Canada

TuESDAy, ApRIL 26, 2016 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm, pALOmINO ROOm, bmO CENTRE AT STAmpEDE pARk $75 gST INCLuDED

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...For Foodies & Beverage Lovers CALGARY / FOOD & DRINK / RECIPES :: VOLUME 4 NO.8 :: JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016

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AWARD-WINNING TOP VALUE WINES

FOOD TRENDS FOR 2016

14 Ways to Spice Up Grilled Cheese | Beyond YYC: Maui | Sunday Suppers

CALGARY / FOOD & DRINK / RECIPES :: VOLUME 4 NO.9 :: MARCH 2016

RAISE A GLASS

TO WOMEN BEHIND THE BAR AMAZING COCKTAILS TO MAKE AT HOME Beyond YYC: Canmore & Banff | Grab-and-Go | Absinthe: The Green Fairy

In today’s busy world, you may not get a chance to pick up every issue of Culinaire. To ensure your copy, go to culinairemagazine.ca to have the next ten issues delivered right to your door.

Order today — 10 issues for $39+gst.

Off The Menu A sure-fire favourite dish at Una Pizza + Wine, Kale Caesar Salad is much requested. It has all the elements of a perfect salad: crunchy prosciutto and breadcrumbs, and chewy kale leaves and egg for texture, with grated cheese, and a creamy, plate-licking dressing to pull it all together. Many thanks to Una Executive Chef Jen Pena for sharing it with us!

Una’s Kale Caesar Salad Serves 4

Salad 2 Tbs (30 mL) olive oil, plus more if needed 4 thin slices prosciutto, julienned ½ cup panko breadcrumbs Maldon salt and black pepper 2 bunches kale, leaves only, julienned 1 cup grated Pecorino cheese 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and halved (optional)

Caesar Dressing 1 clove garlic 4 anchovy fillets 1 Tbs (15 mL) Dijon mustard Zest and juice of 1 lemon ½ cup (120 mL) olive oil

1. Using a fork, crush garlic and

anchovies against the inside of a large bowl. Add mustard, lemon juice, zest and olive oil, and whisk until well emulsified. Pour the dressing into a glass jar and set aside.

2. Line a plate with paper towels. Heat

olive oil in a medium frying pan on high.

Add prosciutto and pan-fry until crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

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3. Reduce the heat to low and add

panko crumbs to the pan, adding a little oil if required. Toast until golden, about 2 minutes. Scrape the panko into a small bowl, season to taste with salt, and set aside.

4. Place kale in a large bowl, pour in the dressing and toss well. Season with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a serving

bowl and top with grated Pecorino cheese, toasted panko, and crispy prosciutto. Serve with the boiled eggs, if desired.

If there’s a dish in a restaurant that you’d love to know how to make, let us know at culinairemagazine.ca/contact-us, and we’ll do our very best to track it down for you!

Have You Entered Your Wine, Beers And Spirits Yet?

Registrations are arriving already. With the success of last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competition, 2016 will be an even greater competition this year! Visit culinairemagazine.ca/aba to enter your wines, beers, and spirits for the 2016 Alberta Beverage Awards.

Registration Deadline July 1 | Judging Takes Place July 18-19-20 For more information, contact competition director Tom Firth: tom@culinairemagazine.ca

culinairemagazine.ca/aba

sponsors:

Chefs' Tips Tricks! story by ROBYN MACLEAN photography by INGRID KUENZEL

The most important tool in any kitchen, without a doubt, is a good knife.

As Iron Chef Masahari Morimoto would say, “a kitchen without a knife is not a kitchen.”

I couldn’t agree more.

12

For professional cooks, knives are practically an extension of their hands, and probably better cared for. But a quality knife is just as essential for home cooks. If you’re even slightly inclined to cook at home, at the very least you should own a classic 20 cm chef’s knife – the go-to knife for the brunt of daily kitchen tasks.

Knives

But it’s certainly not the only knife you should have in your arsenal.

Slicing, dicing, filleting, butchering and julienning become a whole lot easier when you use the right knife for the job, and these three Calgary chefs share their favourite model, and a recipe to help point you in the right direction.

Chef Matthias Fong

Chef Matthias Fong River Café

A good quality knife is made from high quality steel, usually German or Japanese, which will stay sharp for a long period of time, and has the potential to last a lifetime.

Owning a stainless steel knife versus one made from high carbon steel is also extremely beneficial in any kitchen. It’s easy for a knife to end up in the sink, which can leave non-stainless varieties rusted and ruined.

“Regardless of style or brand, it’s never safe to let knives go dull. Dull knives lead to excessive force and can easily slip off the product you’re cutting,” cautions Fong.

Pacific Albacore Tuna Crudo

3. Slice 8 pickled string beans thinly

Serves 4

into rounds.

335 g Pacific albacore tuna 1 honey crisp or granny smith apple 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced ½ tsp ground espelette chili ¼ cup (60 mL) sunflower oil ¼ cup (60 mL) flax oil 1 Tbs lightly toasted flax seed 8 pickled string beans (keep some pickling liquid) 4 slices of prosciutto 1 Tbs (1 mL) rice vinegar Pea shoots Good quality finishing salt like fleur de sel

4. Dice the apple into 1 cm cubes and

1. Slice garlic as thinly as possible, and

5. Set up 4 plates. Slice the tuna into ¾ cm thick slices and lay out 85 g per plate. Using the finishing salt, season the tuna to taste.

6. Pull the prosciutto slices apart into

bite-sized pieces, and scatter them with the tuna slices.

7. Drizzle 1 Tbs (15 mL) flax oil over

each plate, with a few slices of the fried combine with sunflower oil in a small garlic from the oil on each plate. saucepan. Heat slowly and allow the garlic to fry until golden brown. Remove from 8. Scatter the apple and string bean heat and add the ground espelette chili. mixture over the slices of tuna, being sure to spoon some of the pickling liquid 2. Allow the oil to steep for 15-20 from the bowl over the tuna slices. minutes at room temperature. Once cool Finish with pea shoot tips and toasted add flax oil. flax seed.

䠀䄀䰀䘀 䘀刀䔀䔀 圀䤀一䔀℀

“To properly care for a knife, I recommend investing in some sharpening stone and/or a ceramic honing rod, which prolongs the life of your knife and requires less sharpening.

I also suggest signing up for a class to learn the art of sharpening, or just take your knives directly to the folks at Knifewear and they’ll gladly maintain for you.”

䈀甀礀 琀栀攀 琀漀瀀 栀愀氀昀 漀昀 愀渀礀 戀漀琀琀氀攀 漀昀 眀椀渀攀 戀攀琀眀攀攀渀 ㌀瀀洀ⴀ㘀瀀洀 愀渀搀 最攀琀 琀栀攀 戀漀琀琀漀洀 ⠀琀栀攀 昀甀渀 栀愀氀昀⤀ 昀漀爀 䘀刀䔀䔀⸀

䴀伀一䐀䄀夀 ⴀ 䘀刀䤀䐀䄀夀 ㌀瀀洀 ⴀ㘀瀀洀 䘀 刀 䔀 䔀

“My go-to knife is the Tojiro Flash 8.25-inch slicer. It’s short in length making it versatile for a variety of uses.

I use it for the majority of my prep work, but it’s ideal for slicing and carving. The narrow blade allows for paper thin slicing on delicate fish like tuna,” says Fong.

add a splash of the pickled string bean liquid as well as rice vinegar; add to the sliced string beans.

㄀⼀㈀ 瀀爀椀挀攀 戀漀琀琀氀攀猀 漀昀 眀椀渀攀 ␀㔀 戀漀琀琀氀攀猀 漀昀 戀攀攀爀 ␀㔀 栀椀最栀戀愀氀氀猀

“I favour the Tojiro line of knives because they offer stainless, Japanese steel that’s easy to sharpen and repair.” 㔀㄀㔀 Ⰰ 㠀 䄀瘀 攀 匀 圀Ⰰ 䌀 愀 氀 最 愀 爀 礀Ⰰ 䄀 䈀 吀 ㈀ 倀 ㄀ 䜀 ㄀

Chef Kai Salimäki

Chef Jorel Zielke

Sirloin Beef Tartare

“I’m a huge fan of my 10¾-inch MAC chef’s knife. This multipurpose knife is modeled after the standard French chef’s knife,” says Zielke.

335 g AAA beef sirloin 2 Tbs (30 mL) grainy mustard cup minced shallots Tbs minced gherkins 2 Tbs cup finely chopped parsley Worcestershire sauce to taste Hot sauce to taste Cold pressed canola oil to taste 1 egg yolk, in tact with all whites removed Pinch of fresh grated horseradish Salt and pepper

Brasserie Kensington and Winebar

You simply can’t do your best without your equipment at its best “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of respecting your tools by keeping them clean and properly functioning, to avoid safety issues. You simply can’t do your best without your equipment at its best.”

“A sharp knife is key when dicing raw meat, like in my recipe below,” he continues. “Keep in mind that it’s not firm like an onion or a stick of celery.

Meat shifts and moves as you prepare it, so it’s important to slow down and take your time when preparing a dish like tartare.”

Chef Jorel Zielke

Serves 2

1. Finely dice the sirloin, removing

any connective tissue or silver-skin.

Do not trim off the fat. Pass over the meat several times with your knife.

2. Mix in mustard, shallots, gherkins, parsley, Worcestershire, hot sauce, oil and salt and pepper.

3. Note: All garnish measurements are suggestions, as tartares vary to personal taste. Add enough oil to moisten dish, but be careful not to oversaturate.

4. Top tartare with raw egg yolk and freshly grated horseradish.

5. Serve with anything you can pick

it up with, such as crostini, crackers, fresh bread, fresh heirloom tomato or crisp lettuce.

14

Chef Kai Salimäki The Block

Chef Salimäki is all about a great multipurpose knife. “I love the Masakage Kumo Petty 150 mm knife.

It’s ideal for numerous tasks in the kitchen, but I especially love it for chopping fine herbs. It’s lightweight, and has a remarkably sharp edge that has chives bouncing from under it in perfect uniform circles,” he explains.

The Petty knife is ideal for smaller jobs such as slicing shallots, cutting herbs, and boning smaller proteins.

And because of its size, it’s also a great alternative for those who feel uncomfortable wielding a larger, heavier chef’s knife.

“I would recommend this knife for the home cook as it can replace many utility knives people seem to collect in drawers.

And of course, most importantly, I recommend proper love, attention and care, to ensure you keep this tool functioning for a very long time.”

Braised Brisket with Carrot Puree and Napa Cabbage Serves 4

900 – 1125 g brisket 5 carrots, peeled and sliced 12-16 baby potatoes 1 head of Napa cabbage, julienned 5 parsnips, peeled and sliced 2 tomatoes, quartered 2 yellow onions, quartered 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced 6 sprigs of thyme 4 sprigs of rosemary 6 whole cloves of garlic 3-4 Tbs butter 1 Tbs black peppercorns Canola oil 4 cups (1 L) beef stock or water 1 cup (240 mL) of milk Honey to taste Salt and pepper

1. Season brisket liberally with salt

and pepper (you can braise whole or cut it into smaller chunks).

2. In a large sauté pan, heat canola oil until it has reached its smoking point.

Sear the meat on all sides until golden brown and caramelized.

“I recommend proper love, attention and care, to ensure you keep this tool functioning for a very long time”

3. Remove from pan and place in a

large ovenproof baking dish, covering with beef stock (or water). Add peppercorns, two sprigs of rosemary, 4 sprigs of thyme, whole garlic, tomatoes and the quartered onions.

6. For carrot puree, add two

tablespoons of butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan, and sauté sliced onion and diced carrots together over medium heat. You’re not looking to brown the vegetables, but rather simmer in the butter.

7. After 10 minutes, cover the

mixture with milk; add 2 sprigs of thyme and season with salt. Simmer until soft and tender.

8. Strain the carrots and reserve the

approximately for 3-3½ hours at 325º F or until fork tender.

milk; throw out the thyme sprigs.

Place the carrots and onions in a blender and slowly add the milk until a nice puree is achieved, check seasoning and thickness, and adjust if necessary.

Set aside.

5. Remove from the braising juices,

9. Sauté julienned cabbage in a

4. Cover with tin foil and braise for

spoon off any excess fat, and strain juices into a saucepot; reduce on a medium heat until a nice thick sauce has formed.

tablespoon of butter, season with salt and add 2 tablespoons of water.

Reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

10. Toss sliced carrots and parsnips with honey, chopped rosemary and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for an hour at 325º F or until tender.

11. Boil the baby potatoes in heavily salted water until fork tender.

12. To serve, set up 4 plates and

spoon carrot puree on the bottom of the plate in a circle. Arrange potatoes, carrots and parsnips around the plate, place Napa cabbage in the middle, and place brisket on top.

Spoon the reduced braising liquid over the meat.

Robyn is a public relations professional and occasional writer, with a passion for food and beverages. Despite city hopping from her home in Calgary to Anchorage, AK, you can still find her on Twitter @robynalana 15

Going To Market: Primal Soup Company Finds Its Home

by ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH photography by INGRID KUENZEL

If you happen to spy Margaret Nemeth at one of her Primal Soup Company booths at the Crossroads Market or the Market on MacLeod, you’ll immediately see that the energetic atmosphere of a Farmers’ Market suits her.

Margaret Nemeth

As Nemeth chats with customers, other vendors, and friends who stop by, her enthusiastic greetings and joyous laughter are hard to ignore — this is a woman who clearly likes people. In fact, she loves them. Warm, hearty, and full of surprises, the words used to describe Nemeth’s personality can just as easily be used to describe her soup.

Kingsland Farmers’ Market) in 2011 — but Nemeth is not new to the food and beverage game.

The Primal Soup Co. is a fairly new entity — the frozen containers of soup, with flavours like Mango Butternut Squash; Spinach, Artichoke and Feta; and Thai Coconut Chicken, first showed up at the Market on MacLeod (then the

Long-time Calgarians may recognize the Primal name and the taste of Nemeth’s homemade soups from the now defunct Primal Grounds Cappuccino Bar and Eatery in Killarney, which Nemeth owned and ran from 1996 through to 2010.

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“When you’re in a market, you have to give people reasons to stop”

Nemeth opened that business after a career in oil and gas, and the stand-alone café was a solid success for her. Not only did it serve up great coffee, Nemeth quickly made a name for herself with her homemade soup creations. All homemade and gluten-free (due to Nemeth’s own dietary restrictions), Primal Grounds was catering to people with gluten intolerances long before it became fashionable.

“We were pioneers and it was so much fun,” Nemeth says. “There were lots of ups and downs, but it was a good life.”

Nemeth sold the café when a real estate developer made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, but she still felt the urge to be around people and feed them. So she set up shop in the markets - first the Market on MacLeod, and then in January of 2015 she opened a stall in the rebranded Crossroads Market.

“We were pioneers and it was so much fun”

Primal Soup also sells lunch items like gourmet macaroni and cheese, sandwiches, and homemade pies and pastries, so that market wanderers can stop by the stall and grab a full lunch while perusing the soup cooler for something to take home for a future meal.

“When you’re in a market, you have to give people reasons to stop,” Nemeth says. “So we offer things to go with the soup, which also gives them ideas for what they can do at home. Or sometimes they’ll come for a sandwich and then they’ll look at the soups. You have to give people reasons to be in this space.”

Whatever Nemeth is doing, it seems to be working. Between the two farmers’ markets and specialty retailers like the Market on 17th, Sunnyside Market, and SPUD delivery boxes, Primal Soup Co. sells over 1,000 containers of soup every week. Nemeth develops the recipes herself, but has hired a full-time chef to keep up with the demand.

Personality and strategic stall locations in busy farmers’ markets alone isn’t enough to move that kind of volume of soup — while Nemeth has made smart business decisions over the course of Primal’s various incarnations, the key to her success really lies in the product itself. Everything is made from scratch without the aid of pre-bought soup bases, and Nemeth uses seasonal ingredients (only 20 to 30 of her 50 soup varieties are ever available at any given time), supporting her neighbours at the markets when possible. Her meat stocks are built from organic chicken bones, Winters’ turkey carcasses, and duck bones from fellow market vendor, Green Eggs and Ham, to build a rich and delicious broth.

“I layer my soups,” Nemeth says. “I don’t just throw everything in the pot together. And there has to be a twist in every one. There has to be something

that you don’t expect — a surprise in every box.”

To bring things full circle, Nemeth has a new venture that just opened kitty corner to her Primal Soup stall in the Crossroads Market: a beautiful and shiny new Primal Grounds coffee location. With a long counter for people to sit at for as long as they like (Nemeth jokes that it’s the perfect place for bored spouses to sit while their partners shop the market), it’s an updated nod to what got Primal Soup started in the first place.

“There has to be something that you don’t expect — a surprise in every box”

And it’s also a testament to Nemeth’s dedication to market life — the lack of control she has over her own hours and some other aspects aren’t perfect, but the busyness, the proximity to likeminded vendors, and most of all, the people she gets to interact with on a constant basis, has put Nemeth exactly where she belongs.

“You’re only as strong as the market is collectively,” she says. “It’s different than being a restaurant, but I have to say, it’s the funnest thing I’ve ever done.”

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth is a Calgary-based writer, and co-founder/co-editor of RollingSpoon.com and Wapawekka.com. She enjoys exploring the connection between music and food through interviews with musicians and chefs.

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Soup Kitchen story and photography by DAN CLAPSON

The fresh, hang-up-your-winter-jacket feeling is finally in the air – and that, my friends, is a wonderful thing.

Gone are the days where we’ve looked forward to spooning into a big bowl of creamy soup or sitting down to some chicken noodle soup to help shake off the winter sniffles. These days, I’m more concerned with light and bright flavours and less calorie-ridden meals

so I won’t look completely undesirable in a swimsuit come June.

Here are two great recipes that just happen to be vegan, but are bursting with flavour.

Spiced Green Lentil and Chard Soup Serves 5 Total cook time 35 minutes 6 cups (1.5 L) vegetable broth 1 cup (240 mL) white wine 1 cup (240 mL) water 2 Tbs (30 mL) tomato paste 2 cups dry green lentils 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced 1 small fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced 2 tsp (10 mL) maple syrup 1 tsp dried oregano ½ tsp ground turmeric ½ tsp chili flakes ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1 pinch nutmeg 2 cups thinly sliced red Swiss chard To taste salt and pepper

1. Place broth, wine, water and

tomato paste in a large pot and bring to a simmer on medium-high heat.

Add lentils and cook for 15 minutes.

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2. Add onion, fennel, maple syrup

and spices, and continue to cook for 15 minutes.

3. Add Swiss chard and cook until

leaves are tender, about 2-3 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve!

Spinach and Cashew Soup with Poblano and Scallion Salsa

Serves 4 Total cook time 30 minutes, not including cashew soak time

Soup: 1½ cups roasted cashews 2 cups (500 mL) water 4 cups (1 L) vegetable broth 4 cups cooked spinach 1 Tbs (15 mL) apple cider vinegar 1 Tbs (15 mL) maple syrup ½ tsp cayenne pepper salt and pepper, to taste cashew butter, for garnish, optional

Salsa: 1 large poblano pepper, halved and seeds removed 1 bunch scallions 2 Tbs (30 mL) canola oil 2 Tbs fresh mint, roughly chopped 1 tsp (5 mL) lemon juice ½ tsp cane sugar ½ tsp chili flakes salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400º F. 2. Place poblano halves and scallions

1. Place cashews and water in a container, on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and cover and let sit on counter overnight.

2. Combine cashews, water and

roast until slightly charred, about 15-18 minutes.

remaining soup ingredients in a blender, and purée until very smooth.

3. Remove from oven, allow to cool

3. Pour contents of blender through a

4. Add to a bowl with remaining

fine mesh strainer into a medium pot.

Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat and cook for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and keep warm on stove until ready to serve.

slightly, then give them a rough chop. ingredients and toss to combine. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

4. Place a couple of spoonfuls of the

salsa into each bowl and ladle soup around it. Add a couple of dollops of cashew butter for a little extra richness.

Dan Clapson is a freelance food writer and columnist in Calgary. When he’s not writing about Canada’s amazing culinary scene, he is likely listening to 80s rock or 90s boy bands. Follow him on twitter @dansgoodside

California Cool

by PETER VETSCH

California is a land of frontiers: dangling on the edge of the Pacific, home of the Gold Rush, and epicentre of the New World’s insurgence onto the global wine scene.

Ever since Napa Valley cabernet sauvignons and chardonnays bested their more historic counterparts from Bordeaux and Burgundy in the nowfamous Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976, California and its flagship region have carried the torch for the bold, dense, fruity, lushly oaked wines that brought them worldwide fame.

Forty years later, this sun-drenched style of wines remains both unapologetically enjoyable and wildly popular, and Napa is on the bucket list of any devoted wine tourist. But as tastes and trends start to evolve away from a focus on power and concentration, towards greater elegance and food-friendliness, winemakers in California are again taking to the frontier, gravitating towards the state’s physical and climatic extremes to explore new boundaries of flavour and complexity. California’s cooler corners

are fast becoming its second face in the world of wine.

Sonoma County, north of San Francisco and just west of Napa, is probably California’s second best-known region, almost equally recognized for its cabernets, chardonnays, and zinfandels.

The largest subregion in the county, taking up almost a third of its total area, is the western Sonoma Coast, too expansive at 500,000 acres to have a distinct identity.

California can comfortably both provide continuity and defy stereotype However, the western border of this appellation, a razor’s edge straddling the ocean locally known as the “true” Sonoma Coast, showcases the region’s true character - extreme viticulture, wet, cool, and always windy at elevations up to 2,000 feet, balanced on the San Andreas Fault, with many vines growing above the fog line and constantly exposed to the throes of the Pacific.

Pinot noir takes on a unique expression here, on low-yielding vines in the cool above the rest of Sonoma, offering both remarkable purity of fruit and astonishing acidity and structure.

Pinot is also predominant in the relatively new Santa Rita Hills subregion of the Santa Ynez Valley, located an hour and a half northwest of Los Angeles and similarly perched right alongside the ocean. The maritime influence dominates the microclimate, and counteracts the California sun with fog and cool breezes, to the point where this coastal spot becomes a near ideal substitute for chilly Burgundy.

Here, the core Burgundian varietals of pinot noir and chardonnay thrive in a particularly striking, edgy way.

Santa Ynez is the only wine region in the western hemisphere where the area’s defining mountain range runs east-west instead of north-south, creating a sort of maritime wind tunnel that sucks cold Pacific air eastward. This leads to some of the largest diurnal (day to night) temperature shifts in North America, and allows inland grapes ripening in the scorching daytime heat to recharge and maintain acidity at night. This special geological feature allows a wide range of reds in Santa Ynez to be juicy but still structured, bold yet balanced, from cabernet and merlot to syrah and grenache.

Halfway between the Sonoma Coast to the north and the Santa Rita Hills to the south, along yet another coastline

Photograph courtesy California Wine Institute 20

just south of San Jose, the wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains prove again that those seeking to make modern, moderate wines in California head both west and up. The highest vineyards in Santa Cruz, despite being just miles from the ocean, are at 2,600 feet; this significant altitude and the cool Pacific climate results in chiseled wines with controlled ripeness and serious staying power.

The region is both expansive and miniscule, with only 1,500 of its 480,000 acres currently planted to grapes, and its very-California plantings (cabernet, chardonnay, pinot noir, zinfandel, and merlot) all take on an Old World character and rusticity from its rugged terrain, and stony, mineral-laden soils. Despite the challenges associated with growing grapes on a cool rock face, Santa Cruz is a state leader in sustainable growing practices.

The friendly, sunny face of California wine is surely here to stay, but Santa Cruz, Santa Ynez and the Sonoma Coast are permanent proof that the state is readily capable of more than one expression. With its range of climate and terrain, California can comfortably both provide continuity and defy stereotype.

Wine Picks

Ridge 2013 Geyserville (Santa Cruz Mountains) This will change your expectations of zinfandel. A zin-heavy field blend, it combines the best of its mountain altitude and the California sun.

CSPC +426379, $55

Domaine de la Cote 2013 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills) Seriously pushes the boundaries; picked almost insanely early for low-alcohol, herbal, pomegranate and rhubarb acidic tension and energy.

CSPC +761893, $58

Sequoia Grove 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) Textbook cabernet from Napa’s heart of Rutherford, with deep black fruit, mint and cedar… and a survivable price tag.

CSPC +740382, $56

Alice May Crosswinds Syrah (Santa Ynez Valley) A syrah/viognier Cote Rotie-style co-ferment that matches Cali ripeness with surprising verve and delicacy.

CSPC +761131, $28

Hartford Court Land’s Edge Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) The ferocity of the Sonoma Coast somehow creates the picture of elegance in this juicy, yet delicate, pinot.

CSPC +717210, $60

Peter is a local lawyer by day and wine writer by night, maintaining his own wine blog at popandpour.ca. He is always on the lookout for the next way to experience wine, and the next good bottle to try.

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En Garde!

A Beginner’s Guide To Knives And Their Uses

by ANNA BROOKS

It’s difficult to imagine that sharp little number that’s slicing away to the rhythm of your favourite cooking music (or to the beating of child-size fists hungry for dinner) was more often used for combat, not chopping carrots.

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Despite King Louis XIV’s decree that the tips of knives be ground down to reduce violence in the mid-1600s, kitchen knives still (for quite pointed reasons) make popular murder weapons.

But we won’t get into grisly stories of guts and gore here. Whether you’re a chef extraordinaire or the person whose knife knowledge goes as far as cutting

vegetables with a steak knife, there are some things everyone should know about knives.

The first major thing we must insist upon is putting down that expensive 14-piece knife set. As most knife experts can attest to, three main knives can cover almost all the work that a layman cook needs to do in the kitchen.

The Big Three

Chef’s Knife

Your standard knife for mincing and slicing vegetables and meat, a chef’s knife is typically 20-25 cm long, but can range all the way up to 36 cm.

Luke Pickett from Knifewear is a sight to see wielding some wickedly sharp

handcrafted Japanese models, but despite their carnivorous look, Pickett said there’s really nothing to fear.

“There are a lot of people who are scared of really large knives,” Pickett said. “But having good quality kitchen equipment will make your life easier.”

For beginners, a standard 20 cm chef’s knife (although Pickett said blade length is purely based on personal preference) is best to start with, but a Japanese Santoku knife — an elegant, slightly smaller version of a chef’s knife — will certainly get the job, er, meal done.

Paring Knife

On the other side of the knife spectrum is the pocket-sized paring knife (note: carrying knives in pockets not recommended!).

Regan Johnson, assistant manager at The Cookbook Co., said besides what the individual using a steak knife to cut everything might think, the small, intricate work required of a paring knife (such as peeling and trimming) should not be done on a cutting board.

Bread Knife

The last of the big three is, of course, a bread knife. Have you ever tried to cut a loaf of bread with a straight blade?

Not so easy (or safe) a task.

It’s sometimes difficult to do, but no matter the type of knife you’re using, it’s important to try and slice as opposed to chopping or sawing. It

“Paring is anything you can be doing in the air — you’re not ever supposed to use a paring knife on a board,” she explained.

Johnson added that for someone like herself who does almost as much blade-wielding as a samurai, she also recommends a utility knife,

Three main knives can cover almost all the work that a layman cook needs to do in the kitchen is quite tempting (and often seems easier) to saw away at the crispy crust of a floured loaf of sourdough, but Knifewear’s Pickett said sawing can

which is a hybrid of a chef’s knife and a paring knife.

“I reach for my utility knife a lot,” she said. “It’s got that shape of a paring knife, but is longer. It’s just for those things in between that you don’t need your giant chef’s knife for.”

be a slippery slope to your bread knife’s grave.

“If you slice, you can use the entire blade and it’s a lot sharper along the edge,” he explained. “It’s important to get a good bread knife because you can’t sharpen them like you can any other sort of knife.”

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Tips and Tricks Of course you can adorn your kitchen with the countless others belonging to the knife family — cleavers, carvers, boning knives, cheese knives, etc. — but if you’re not planning on hacking through solid bone anytime soon, you probably don’t need to spend $200 on a meat cleaver.

But there are some other knife-related implements that are important to have in your kitchen.

Having good quality kitchen equipment will make your life easier

First off: a proper cutting board.

While plastic cutting boards are versatile and can be chucked in the dishwasher, wood is really the best way to go. Cutting boards are the quickest way to ruin a knife, so steer clear of fancy-looking glass or granite boards — they are the antagonists of our story.

It’s also not a bad idea to have a knife honer on hand. As a reminder (or for

those who had no idea what that random rod in the kitchen was used for), honers are for honing, not sharpening.

“With use, the metal fibres in a knife edge can get bent to one side or another. All you’re doing with honing is straightening those fibres back out,” Johnson from The Cookbook Co. explained. “Sharpening means you’re actually removing material and grinding the metal down to a finer edge.”

Johnson added that while you can sharpen at home, she always recommends getting your knives sharpened professionally at least once a year, depending on how much they are used.

Before you go back to making your lazy-day grilled cheese sandwich, or that complex stew you’ve spent hours on, we just want to remind you of what’s called “the pinch grip.”

Not to sound snobbish, but grabbing a knife by the handle and hacking away is poor form. Use your thumb and index finger to grasp the blade, and then wrap your remaining fingers under the bolster of the knife. Shape your other hand into a claw to protect your fingertips from accidentally getting lopped off, firmly grasp the object to be cut and slice away!

If this knowledge was present in the 17th century, perhaps old King Louis XIV would be tipping his crown to more cooks, not kitchen knife combatants.

Anna Brooks is an award-winning journalist from Calgary, Alberta. She has worked internationally in Thailand and Africa, and has been published in Metro, BeatRoute Magazine and the Calgary Journal. She also enjoys animal rights, fantasy fiction and whiskey sours.

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Times Are A Changing: Unexpected Take-Outs

by LINDA GARSON and DIANA NG photography by INGRID KUENZEL

There’s no denying that many of our city’s restaurants are feeling the effects of the current economic downturn; fewer people working downtown – indeed, fewer people working altogether, and so looking to save money by eating out less, means many bricks and mortar restaurants are having to get creative with ways to fully utilise their kitchens and staff.

High rents exacerbate the situation, so it’s time for Calgary restaurateurs to think outside the box and, proving to be the innovative entrepreneurs that we’re known for, many are diversifying their offerings to include take-out options, both raw and cooked.

Catch & The Oyster Bar launched their “Buy Catch” program, where you can pick up fresh Ocean Wise seafood to take home and cook (complete with recipes), along with house-made clam chowder and sauces, nearly two years ago. There are big savings to be had over dining in, with no costs for linen or staff, and no expectation to tip.

Here are four Calgary eateries also getting clever with take-out programs that are not widely publicised - and may open a few eyes!

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Centini Restaurant It’s not a cookie cutter program, but the magic of Centini’s take-out is that you can ask the kitchen for ideas of what you should have for dinner. People even text the servers for suggestions, and to order! Loyal customers, mostly busy businessmen, were asking if they catered, but without the staff for such a service, Centini started offering to prepare dishes for them to cook themselves.

Now you can get your favourite restaurant dishes, from rack of lamb with red wine demi-glace, AAA Alberta beef tenderloin with Gorgonzola pan sauce, and sea bass with ginger cream sauce, ready to cook at home. “We’re not going to open a bricks and mortar restaurant down south, but our food is going there,” says Chevonne Centini.

They’re seeing pick-ups such as for people stuck at home with a new baby, and even 40 people for a funeral.

Boxwood It’s hard to believe that the quality of food coming from the sister restaurant to River Cafe can be had at home, and we are not talking about leftovers. When

People take home uncooked homemade pasta with sauce separately, and even bread dough, and often freeze it to cook later, or pick up on a Friday evening so everything is prepared ready for Saturday dinner. When buying from a restaurant, you’re getting top quality, perfectly trimmed meat; everything is done for you - there’s no shopping

around, and even the parsley is chopped.

And as everything is custom-made, all allergies are catered for too.

you go home to an empty fridge, it feels like the only options you have are fast food or pizza. Not so.

be able to enjoy the quaint atmosphere of the restaurant, you can order anything on the menu for take out, with its special offering being the whole rotisserie free-range chicken, which serves two to four people, for $40.

Boxwood’s fresh and seasonal fare is also available to take home. While you won’t

Centini gets fish delivered once or twice every day, and it may come as a surprise, but with a chef garde manger that spent 15 years in Japan, they have customers coming just to take out sushi!

Many bricks and mortar restaurants are having to get creative with ways to fully utilise their kitchens and staff

You will need to call a few hours ahead (the website states before 2:00 pm) for enough notice for the chicken, but for the rest of the selection, like its soups and sandwiches, you can simply look up the menu online and call to place an order. For a perfect night in, may we suggest starting with its bison tartare, then moving onto the porchetta, and another main before finishing off the meal with a slice of pie?

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Safari Grill The marinated, thinly sliced BBQ short beef ribs at Safari Grill are already a must-have for those in the know, but we suspect even regulars will be surprised to discover that you can pick

up uncooked ribs, with your choice of seven marinades, to take home and BBQ yourself.

With none of the associated costs of dining in, $65 buys you enough ribs for 10 people, and customers actually drive

from Saskatchewan to take away 10-15 lb bags of these uncooked, marinated ribs. Some people call and ask for them to be marinated and frozen in 5 lb bags, to enjoy later, as just 5-7 minutes each side on a high flame has the raw ribs ready to eat.

And it’s not only ribs that people BBQ at home. Mishkaki are skewers of marinated chicken, beef, and prawns, and for as little as $3 each, you can have a very inexpensive BBQ feast. Marinated raw lamb chops are also available, or ask for Samaki - a marinated whole tilapia that comes with a basting sauce to brush on. You can even get uncooked samosas to cook in your oven at home.

All Safari Grill’s regular menu can be ordered for take-out, but there is no published price list for uncooked dishes, so people call to order and ask - but when you’re picking up, look out for the new jars of house-made mango and lemon pickles!

Gaucho For most people, the elaborate setup of Brazilian barbecue is one of its biggest attractions. You may not know this, and while you may not be able to take home the lively decor of Gaucho, you can actually take the meal home.

The spit packed tightly with freshly roasted meats, the sign at the table that signals you’re ready for more, and the roasted and caramelized pineapple that tops off the meal, all contribute to the atmosphere, but if all you want are the meats and sides for a hefty dinner, you can certainly order the meal as a take-out.

Order any of the four options (top sirloin, pork loin, chicken wings or mild sausage) and add three sides from the list of eight, which includes a variety of salads, black bean stew and rice. And because you can’t just have one kind of meat when it comes to Brazilian barbecue, you can choose additional

meats for $4 each. Finally, choose the sauce you’d like to accompany your meal. Orders for over five people will come in a big white box, and individual

orders come will in regular take-out containers. For big parties, do call a few hours ahead. All you need to make at home is the caipirinha.

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Step By Step:

Go Nuts With Homemade Nutella And Waffles story and photography by NATALIE FINDLAY

Hazelnuts have a tried and true following for taking the lead role in the chocolate spread, Nutella. This long-standing love affair has lasted simply because they add a distinct, but subtle, flavour to the chocolate. Truly, a match that is better together than apart.

There are many nutritional benefits packed into these small filberts.

They are rich in dietary fibre; packed with folate, an excellent source of vitamin E; and contain mono-unsaturated fatty acids that

can help lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. By making your own Nutella at home you can control the amount of sugar that is added, making this delicious spread, basicallyâ&#x20AC;Ś a health food?

These delicious and super-easy waffles make a great base for your homemade Nutella. With the addition of ground hazelnuts to the batter, you can deepen the hazelnut flavour and pack in more health benefits.

Waffles with raspberries and white chocolate spread 28

Hazelnut Banana Waffles

Homemade Nutella

½ cup (80 g) all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda Pinch sea salt 1 Tbs (15 g) icing sugar 1 Tbs (10 g) ground hazelnuts 6 grates whole nutmeg 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ cup (125 mL) buttermilk 1 egg yolk 2 Tbs (30 g) butter, melted ½ small banana, peeled and mashed 1 egg white

1½ cups (200 g) whole hazelnuts ¾ cup (100g) icing sugar 3 Tbs (45 mL) canola oil ¼ cup (30 g) cocoa powder 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

Makes 6

1. Sift together all dry ingredients

(except the ground hazelnuts) in a medium bowl. Add the ground hazelnuts and combine.

2. Mash the half banana in a small bowl with a fork. Add the egg, buttermilk and melted butter.

3. Whisk the egg white to stiff peaks.

4. Whisk the wet ingredients into

the dry, and fold the egg white into the mixture.

5. Follow the directions for your

waffle pan to cook waffles, for around 5 minutes or until cooked through.

Note: Remember to bring the waffle pan up to temperature in between each batch of waffles.

Hazelnut Banana Waffles with Nutella

Makes 1½ cups

1. Toast hazelnuts on a baking pan in

a preheated 350º F oven for 10 - 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t start to burn. Remove from oven and let cool to the touch.

2. Wrap the nuts in a kitchen towel and rub together to remove the skins. This should remove most of the skins.

3. Place skinless hazelnuts in a food

processor on high. Process the nuts until they form a smooth paste and the oils start to separate (about 5 minutes), scraping the bowl often.

4. Add the icing sugar, cocoa

powder, vanilla and canola oil to the food processor and process until fully incorporated, scraping bowl of processor as needed (about 2 minutes).

Banana Fruit compote Makes enough for 6

3 ripe bananas, peeled, sliced into rounds 2 Tbs (30 g) butter 2 Tbs (30 g) brown sugar 1½ tsp (8 mL) vanilla extract 1½ tsp (8 mL) bourbon

1. Add butter and sugar to a sauté pan

over medium heat. As they melt, stir to combine.

2. Add vanilla and bourbon, than

add sliced bananas, and sauté until warmed through.

Serve your warm waffles, topped with your homemade hazelnut spread, sautéed bananas and a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.

Using the same waffle recipe from above and switching out the mashed banana and adding ½ a medium orange – juice and zest – to the batter, you have a delicious orange waffle that will highlight the white chocolate hazelnut spread recipe below.

Homemade White Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Makes 1½ cups

1½ cups (200 g) whole hazelnuts ½ cup (70 g) icing sugar 2 Tbs (30 mL) canola oil 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract 1 cup (250g) white chocolate

Follow directions for Homemade Nutella, and add the melted white chocolate at the end. Pulse to combine.

Macerated Raspberries with Orange Serves 6

250 g fresh raspberries ½ medium orange, zest and juice 1 Tbs icing sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract

Add all ingredients into a medium bowl and stir to combine. Let sit for about 1 hour.

Serve your warm waffles, topped with your white chocolate, homemade hazelnut spread, macerated berries and a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.

Note: Homemade Nutella has more texture than store bought, and will last around 1 month in the fridge.

Waffles can be made ahead and frozen. Thaw and reheat in the waffle maker or the oven.

Natalie is a freelance writer, photographer and pastry chef. A graduate of Cordon Bleu’s pastry program, she manages her own business too to create custommade cakes.

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Citrus Beer Friends

by DAVID NUTTALL

One of the great things about beer is its diversity. It can come in a myriad of colours and also a wide variety of flavours, citrus being one of the most distinct.

This is when the taste and/or aroma of a beer can remind the drinker of anything from an orange drink or lemonade, to grapefruit soda.

There are several ways to achieve this character, and these beers are becoming more and more popular every day.

Hops provide the bitterness in beer, and out of the literally hundreds of varieties, a few impart citrus notes into the aroma and flavour.

Cascade and Citra are examples of two of the most popular hops used in several styles of beer, most notably the American IPA or India Pale Ale. Cascade hops have been around for over 40 years, and it is the single most popular hop used by the American craft brewing industry. It provides a floral/spicy character often reminiscent of grapefruit.

Citra’s name leaves no guessing as to its attributes. A relative newcomer, this cross breed of U.K., German, and US hop varieties has been around for less than a decade, but it is already an extremely popular hop for imparting 30

citrus and tropical fruit characteristics to a beer.

It has proven very versatile and appears in several beer styles, from session ales to IPAs. It has also become a favourite hop to use for dry-hopping (adding hops late into the boil) due to the exceptional aromas it produces. For even more flavour and aroma, craft brewers now commonly enhance these already citrusy IPAs with actual zest, peel, or juice from citrus fruits to create an IPA/Fruit Beer hybrid, which sells especially well in summer months.

Beer comes in a myriad of colours and flavours, citrus being one of the most distinct Then, there is the yeast, and many varieties of yeast can produce citrusy esters. The unfiltered hefeweizens, brewed on both sides of the Atlantic, quite often have a lemony flavour. Sour beers also showcase the yeast, often cultured from Belgian strains.

These beers are tart and produce a gamut of flavours; many with citrus qualities, and some have added fruit - the easiest and most obvious way to create a citrusy beer. The Belgians also add different kinds of oranges with spice additions to their wheat ales to create wit beers, now emulated all over the world with different citrus (and other) fruits involved in the recipe. We also can’t forget the radlers, which are simply a lager beer mixed with 40%60% fruit juice - often grapefruit or lemonade.

Whether it’s added fruit, the yeast, the hops, or a combination of all of them, citrusy beers are commonplace now.

Thanks to new hops like Citra, and the increasing popularity of wits and sours, we can expect this trend to continue.

Here are a few local beers with hints of citrus. All are also available on tap.

Dave Nuttall has been in the liquor and event business forever. He is a qualified beer judge and owner/president of Epicurean Calgary at epicureancalgary.com for ten years.

Ribstone Creek Great White Combine This tiny Edgerton, Alberta, brewery has been knocking it out of the park lately. Named after the ubiquitous Alberta summer hailstorm, the use of Belgian yeast, sweet orange peel, and coriander, give this beer an orange flavour in the beginning. When the four different hop additions kick in, it changes more to a sweet lemony flavour.

This White IPA has a very tropical feel that makes you forget it was made in northern Alberta.

CSPC +774162 $16 6-pack cans Wild Rose Cowbell Sour ales are the new Belle of the Ball at craft breweries. Often using imported Belgian yeast strains, they are tart, tangy, and well… sour.

Calgary’s Wild Rose has taken this flavour profile and added kaffir lime leaves. This makes the beer more like a refreshing limeade and is less bitter than many of its other sour counterparts.

CSPC +778093 $17 6-pack bottles

Citradelic Single Hop IPA Big Rock Brewery With breweries in two (soon to be three) provinces, Big Rock now has multiple locations to develop new beers. This is the first one from their Vancouver brewery and is full of lemon/grapefruit flavours and tropical aromas. This beer showcases the Citra hop, fooling one to think that citrus has been added, when it’s all thanks to the hop.

CSPC +778593 $15 6-pack bottles

Alley Kat Main Squeeze What started out as a summer seasonal has now become a mainstay of this Edmonton brewery. A North American style wheat ale with a 50% wheat and 50% barley mix, it has added grapefruit juice, but tastes more along the lines of pink grapefruit rather than its more bitter cousin.

CSPC +733630 $17 6-pack bottles

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Spice it up: cheesecake story by RENEE KOHLMAN

Cheesecake is one of those The Base: classic desserts that almost The classic graham cracker crust is fine, everyone loves, unless of but every now and again it’s great to switch things up. Try: course you have a dairy up ginger cookies. They allergy then you’ll stay far, –– Grinding work especially well for a pumpkin far away from it. While it cheesecake. may seem too complicated –– Chocolate cookie crumbs are fantastic for caramel, peanut butter to make at home, I assure and raspberry cheesecakes. you that it’s not.

–– Add finely chopped nuts, oats or Sure, there are a few steps involved, but the key thing to remember is to have your eggs and cream cheese at room temperature. For the best crack-free cheesecake, it’s best to bake it in a water bath. It yields a light, creamy texture and is well worth the effort. Cheesecake always tastes better the next day, so bake it the day before you want to serve it. Now that we’ve got the basics down, it’s time to have a little fun with the crust, filling and toppings.

32

seeds to the cookie crumbs for added texture and taste.

Have a little fun with the crust, filling and toppings

The Middle: There’s something to be said for a straight up vanilla or chocolate cheesecake, but with some fun add-ins, they could take your cheesecake to the next level of deliciousness. Try: –– Swirling tahini, dulce de leche, salted caramel or chocolate fudge sauce into a creamy vanilla filling.

–– Mix in chopped chocolate peanut butter cups to a chocolate filling.

–– Drop fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries) on top of a vanilla filling.

–– Stir in chopped candied ginger, dried cherries or cranberries, chopped toasted nuts to the filling.

–– Swap some of the cream cheese with ricotta, mascarpone cheese or even strained cottage cheese.

–– You can never go wrong with lemon zest in a vanilla cheesecake.

Apple Crumble Cheesecake

kettle of water on to boil. Have a large roasting pan close by.

I love apple crisp and I love cheesecake. This recipe is a fine marriage of both, and makes a more than acceptable breakfast. The base is a crumble of oats and flour, the middle is classic cheesecake, and it’s topped with cinnamon apples and a buttery oat streusel.

attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice, until it is soft and creamy.

With the mixer still running, add the sugar and beat for another 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least twice. Beat in the vanilla.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, and scraping the bowl. Reduce speed to low, and add the whipping cream.

Crust:

The Toppings: Cheesecake with no fun toppings is like a salad with no dressing, it just doesn’t reach its full flavour potential. Try: –– Salted caramel, roasted strawberry sauce, or warm chocolate sauce –– A rhubarb/cardamom compote is divine on top of vanilla cheesecake kissed with a bit of lemon zest.

Cherry compote is divine with chocolate cheesecake.

–– Have a favourite jam? Melt it down with a tiny bit of water and drizzle it on top of your favourite cheesecake.

–– Candied nuts and citrus rind, chocolate shavings, even crumbled cookies are a fun way to add texture to the cheesecake.

–– Never underestimate the power of fresh, seasonal berries and a wellmade cheesecake.Macerate them in a little sugar and minced mint or basil, and they make a lovely topping. Don’t forget the whipped cream!

3. Reduce heat to 325º F. Put a

Makes about 12-14 servings.

Total cook and prep time 3 hours (plus overnight chilling)

2 cups large flake oats 1 cup all purpose flour cup packed brown sugar ¾ cup butter, melted ½ tsp salt

Cheesecake Layer: 3 - 225 g packages cream cheese, at room temperature cup granulated sugar 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla 3 large eggs, at room temperature cup (80 mL) whipping cream

Apple Layer: 2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced about 3-4 mm thick 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp salt

Streusel Layer:

4. Using a stand mixer with a paddle

5. Toss the sliced apples with

the cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Combine all of the streusel ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.

6. Place the springform pan in the

roasting pan. Give the cheesecake batter a good stir and pour it on top of the crust. Arrange the apples on top and sprinkle the streusel on top of the apples.

7. Place in the oven on the middle

rack, and pour the hot water into the roasting pan so it comes halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

1 cup large flake oats ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup butter, softened 1 tsp ground cinnamon

8. Bake the cheesecake for 1½ hours.

Preheat the oven to 375º F.

and take out the cheesecake from the hot water bath. Remove the foil and let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a wire rack. Cover the top lightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but overnight is best.

The next day, remove the sides of the pan, and serve the cake.

1. Butter the bottom and sides of

a 9-inch springform pan with sides that are at least 7 cm high. Wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum foil, so it comes at least halfway up the sides.

2. Combine the crust ingredients in a large bowl. Press the crust evenly into the pan and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool on a wire rack.

Turn off the heat, prop open the oven door and let the cheesecake hang inside for another hour.

9. Carefully remove from the oven,

Renee is a food writer and pastry chef living in beautiful Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her columns appear in The Saskatoon StarPhoenix and her desserts can be enjoyed at Riverside Country Club. Also, check out her blog www.sweetsugarbean.com 33

The Old Fashioned:

An Iconic Drink That Has Stood The Test Of Time

by BRICE PERESSINI

So…how old is the Old Fashioned?

The Old Fashioned is as old as ice in bars.

Think about that for a moment, and let that sink in like a cherry in your drink.

So how old is ice in bars? Well, that’s a whole story on its own, however the Old Fashioned has been talked about in one form or another since the beginning of the 19th Century. The first appearance of this classic cocktail was in the Balance and Columbian Repository newspaper in 1806 as such: “A stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.”

When you follow these instructions, and put this finely-crafted cocktail into your hand, swirl around the ice, gaze through the caramel-coloured liquid in the glass, and contemplate all that has gone into it, you can rest assured you are holding a drink that has delighted taste buds for generations. The Old Fashioned, however, has not always been held in high regard. There was a time not too long ago where this fine concoction was an unbalanced, fruity, watered-down pale imitation of itself. More recently,

there has been a renaissance involved with this invigorating intoxicant, and you can, and should, expect a proper cocktail when it is ordered at a fine establishment.

When this drink is properly prepared, it should be in perfect balance (as any proper drink should be). The sweetness of the sugar should not cover the flavour of the bourbon, and the bitters should add to, not overpower, the flavour of the whiskey. When the Old Fashioned is well made, it is as close to cocktail perfection as a sophisticated patron could expect.

Befriend a bespoke barkeep at an upstanding establishment, and you will be in trusted hands. If you find yourself at home and wanting for a nightcap, look no further than the Old Fashioned.

Enjoy, friends.

Old Fashioned Recipe 2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon (or your personal favourite) 4 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters 1 raw sugar cube

Muddle the sugar and bitters together with a touch of warm water in a rocks glass. Add the bourbon, then add ice.

Stir, and garnish with an orange peel and cherry (optional).

Brice is a competition cocktail bartender who plies his trade behind the wood at Chefbar. Whisk(e)y is his poison. Neat.

34

Shoulder Season Wines: Wines For Cool Weather

by JACLYN ADOMEIT

Refreshing white wines match with sunny patios and hot days, while bold, tannic red wines earn their keep by a fireplace on a winter night.

Common sense.

But what about the shoulder season? What if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re eating sea bass on a rainy spring day? Or sipping wine on a patio during an uncommonly warm April afternoon?

Photograph courtesy Tom Firth 35

Wine not only pairs with food, but with temperatures and seasons. A bright sauvignon blanc can taste flat and acidic on a cold night, at no fault of the wine or the drinker. Some white wines are other-worldly at the vineyard tasting room in the summer, but fall flat when you pull them out for dinner guests in the winter.

The change in taste is likely due to a number of factors. Anatomically, it is your sinus cavities creating the change. Higher atmospheric pressures allow your nose to pick out subtle aromas, while lower pressures bring out a wine’s acidity and harsh tannins. CO2 degasses from liquid at low pressure, leaving wines dull and flat too.

Serving temperature can greatly affect a wine’s aromatics; white wines chilled to near-freezing have dull aromas. (Tip: allow the bottle a half hour on the counter before popping the cork. This will allow the aromatics to warm up, enhancing the flavour.)

Lastly, your own palate will be partial to different flavours depending on sun, snow, wind, and sleet, but as a rule of thumb, higher alcohol white wines (approximately 13 percent or more) will warm the soul, and pair best with cooler weather.

Here are some wine selections to go for when it is not too hot and not too cold, so you can choose a pairing that’s just right.

Dry Rosé

Feudi Di San Gregorio 2014 Campania, Fiano di Avellino, Italy A beautiful floral bouquet with candied lemon, followed by honey-coated hazelnuts on the palate. Worth cellaring for a few seasons. The perfect dance partner for poultry.

CSPC +708589 $33

Viognier Viognier is a white varietal that is best consumed at slightly higher temperatures. A chilly glass of viognier will leave you with acid, maybe oak, and not much else. Allow it to warm and you may experience peach, pear, and toasted almond.

Allow the bottle a half hour on the counter before popping the cork

Traditionally grown in the warm south of France, viognier is often a higher alcohol white wine with rich tropical flavours.

The heat of the alcohol, with tropical flavours and lower acid, makes viognier the perfect wine to sip while watching a late spring snowfall.

Fiano You’ll notice that many of the best white wines for cold weather are grown in hot places. Hot climates mean a longer growing season, more sugar, which leads to higher alcohol, and often more robust and tropical flavours. All of this is true for fiano seldom grown outside of Campania in southern Italy. Fiano produces ageworthy wines, which are rich, nutty, and delicious.

36

Paul Mas 2014 Languedoc-Roussillon, Viognier, France Brimming with apricot, almond, lemon, and ripe peach. Contains hints of warming oak. Pair with something savoury: baked brie or spinach-filled puff pastry.

CSPC + 740978 $17

There is so much more to be had from rosé than white zinfandel. And no, it’s not just a mix of red and white wine. The best rosé is made from red skinned grapes that only sit on their skins for up to a day and a half to borrow colour and flavour, then are fermented and processed.

Refined examples of rosé wines are often dry and have deep aromas of red fruits, mild tannins, and are savoury instead of sweet. The French and Spanish craft great examples of dry rosés that are either a single varietal or a blend of grapes, such as mourvèdre, grenache, syrah, or tempranillo.

Muga Rosé 2014 Rioja Grenache, Viura, and Tempranillo, Spain A tamed Rioja. Orange blossom woven together with strawberry, and a palate of cherry and savoury soft cheese. Ideal for charcuterie. CSPC + 710261 $16

Orange Wine Never heard of orange wine? A commercial demand for natural wines has fostered a resurgence in ancient wine making practices. While rosé wines are reds that have been produced using white wine making practices, orange wines are created from white grapes submitted to maceration, and allowed to sit on the skins before fermentation, the same practice employed in red winemaking.

Unlike any white you have tasted, orange wines are full-bodied, have mild tannins, and deep flavours - the characteristics that allow red wines to bring warmth to cool nights. A must try for any wine buff.

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Nichol 2013, Naramata Pinot Gris, Canada A Canadian example of orange wine with backbone. Flavours of caramel apple, roast nuts, orange rind, and peach. CSPC +504159 $31

Oaked chardonnay In and out with popular palates, oak and chardonnay have been partners for a long time. Oak paired with chardonnay can bring out butter richness, toasted vanilla, tree fruit, and in the best examples, shimmering minerality. That is because oak aging is often accompanied by a malolactic fermentation process that smooths out rigid acids into lactic acid - the acid found in milk.

The Bicicleta wines are characterized by their fruity expression and for offering more than the traditional strains, a clear example of this range`s innovation, style and creativity.

Chardonnay is a grape of many talents, and encounters a great diversity of production styles. It is oaked examples that pair best with pensive, rainy days. They are full-bodied, warming, and complex.

Wente, Morning Fog 2014 Livermore Valley (California), Chardonnay, U.S.A. Half oak-aged and malolacticfermented, half crisp and fresh, this chardonnay brings together green apple, vanilla, and toasted oak. A friend to cream sauce and roast chicken.

CSPC +175430 $18 In a province of mutable weather, let your wine choices be as varied as the ever changing winds. Cheers, and here’s to refined, full-bodied, coolweather wines.

Jaclyn’s first passion was winemaking. She’s worked in vineyards, cellars, and restaurants. Currently, she is a writer who daylights as an environmental engineer.

She believes that a good life, like a good wine, is not complete without balance.

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No-Waste Vegetable Broth

by DAN CLAPSON

Making a big batch of vegetable broth doesn’t always mean a trip to the grocery store. All you need to do is save those scraps.

This is a handy trick I learned years ago, courtesy of Bon Appetit.

Once you’re done with your magazine cover shoot like we did this month, or prepping for dinner and have all of those odds and ends just sitting on the cutting board - you know, carrot ends, onion skins, tips of celery stalks, you get the point - don’t toss ‘em!

Instead, place them into a large ziploc bag and straight into the freezer. After a couple of weeks, you’ll likely have four full freezer bags of vegetable bits ready to be turned into broth and here’s how you do it!

38

Odds And Ends Broth Yields 8 cups (2 L)

12 cups (3 L) water 4 full ziploc bags of vegetable trimmings 1 yellow onion, quartered 4 cloves garlic Aromatics of choice (I usually toss a couple of rosemary and thyme sprigs in there) To taste, Salt and pepper

1. Place all ingredients in a

large pot and bring to a boil on medium-high heat.

2. Reduce to medium heat and let simmer, uncovered, for 1½ hours.

3. Strain, season to taste with salt and pepper, and use as desired.

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Making The Case: For Argentina

by TOM FIRTH

Argentina is so much more than malbec. While such a noble grape has found its best home in the high altitude vineyards of Argentina, there is a lot going on with other grapes as well.

This massive country nestled up against the Andes mountains has a range of growing conditions suited to a number of grapes. From Salta in the north to Patagonia in the south, plenty of interesting wines are available here - many reasonably priced, and of excellent quality. So yes, there are some

malbecs on these pages, but please do try some of the other grapes and blends coming from Argentina too.

Vinecol 2014 Organic Malbec Mendoza, Argentina Fair Trade, organic, and vegan along with a good price, is it still good? Piles of fresh fruits (think smashed raspberries) with plenty of spice, and soft, herb-leaf aromas. There are plenty of malbec flavours on the palate too. Good for any day of the week, with just a little tension between fruit, tannin, and acid, it might be best with pub style burgers, pulled pork, or sausages.

About $16 CSPC +755296

Be sure to crack open a bottle of malbec on â&#x20AC;&#x153;World Malbec Dayâ&#x20AC;?, April 17 - who knows, it might be nice enough to barbecue too!

Rutini 2013 Cabernet Malbec Mendoza, Argentina An exceptionally well put together blend if you want rich berry fruits, lots of body, but maybe not tons of varietal characters from the individual components.

Lifted and bright fruits make for a very enjoyable glass. Simply perfect for your next barbecue, a roast, or just chilling out with friends and family. $26-30 CSPC +776822

Salentein 2012 Reserve Chardonnay Uco Valley, Argentina

Photograph courtesy Tom Firth 40

Very, very enjoyable chardonnay, blowing me away with complexity, varietal character, and fine balance between oak, lees, and fruit. Toffee, baked apple, tangerine, and a little almond on the nose lead into silkily textured wine in the mouth. Top shelf chardonnay that might be great with lobster tails, mussels, or poultry. Around $20 CSPC +779479

Trivento 2013 Golden Reserve Malbec Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina

Zuccardi 2012 Zeta Mendoza, Argentina

Luigi Bosca 2011 De Sangre Mendoza, Argentina

While there is a trend to see a lot of premium malbecs move away from oak presence, this one is a bold, smooth, and delicious example that is seeing about a year of oak. All those berry fruits, plums, and herb notes malbec is known for, along with the smoothness that only oak brings. Kick back, relax, maybe cook up some steaks - enjoy.

About $24 CSPC +711402

A malbec-cabernet sauvignon blend that is also a blend of two different Mendoza appellations, La Consulta and Gualtallary. Deep and abundant fruit aromas with liquorice root and a touch of blueberry preserves. Excellent balance of flavours on the palate too, with the right structure and tannin for aging if desired. Enjoy with a prime rib, or even meaty pasta dishes or game. $50-52 CSPC +740270

A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and syrah that manages to pull out the best of each varietal. Earthy and slightly smoky, with good fruits, and plenty of versatility. Tannins are well-placed against the fruits, with a long, smooth finish. I’ve been a fan of this wine year after year. Good to keep a couple on hand in the cellar!

About $29 CSPC +745106

Luigi Bosca 2011 Cabernet-Malbec Mendoza, Argentina

Colonia Las Liebres 2013 Bonarda Mendoza, Argentina

Manos Negras 2011 Stone Soil Select Mendoza, Argentina

A wonderfully earthy and savoury blend with plenty of tobacco, spice, leather, and yes, lots of fruit too.

The earthy flavours work well with the big, dark chocolate flavours and weighty tannins. Drink now or through 2020 or so - with a steak naturally. $22-24 CSPC +766010

Bear with me here - a fine bonarda with plenty of earthy, smoky aromas leading to rubber, charred cherries, and cocoa. Some pretty prominent tannins to be found as well, but wow, does it all come together. A wine that just begs for duck with cranberries, or maybe some kebabs… $20 CSPC +773381

Quite new to the market, this is a pretty enjoyable version of Argentina’s flagship grape. Loads of blue fruit and raspberries, with spices galore, and a little compost.

Rich flavours lead to a lengthy, spicy finish. Yes please! Bring to a barbecue if you can. $21 CSPC +630541

Salentein 2012 Numina Gran Corte Uco Valley, Argentina

Trivento 2014 Malbec Reserve Mendoza, Argentina

Zuccardi 2012 “Emma” Bonarda Mendoza, Argentina

A malbec-dominated Bordeaux blend, this stunner is all about ripe fruits, cedar, pepper, cherries, and plum with a little tealeaf, and the right amount of tannins.

Very, very well balanced and like any great wine, think about some food to go with it. Beef tenderloin, slow cooked meats, or maybe at your next asado…

About $40 CSPC +764706

Nearly unbeatable for good malbec at a great price, it’s rich and chocolatey on the nose, with big fruits and oak tones too. Mild garrigue notes or dried herb flavours, with plenty of fruit and tannins - still showing a fine sense of balance.

Enjoy with beef. $14 CSPC +730714

In my humble opinion, one of the finest bonardas coming out of Argentina.

Notes of coffee bean and espresso complement cherry and blackberry fruits with healthy, balanced tannins to stand up to the tart fruits. Delicious for sure, enjoy at your next barbecue. $40 CSPC +758407 41

Open That Bottle

by LINDA GARSON photography by INGRID KUENZEL

“If you work in a place and you’re miserable, I don’t know if there is a dollar amount that can be attached to that. The work that you’re doing has to be rewarding and challenging,” says Karen Kho. Growing up in Niagara Falls, in a Philippino Spanish/Chinese family, Kho was surrounded by food and drinks, with an open door policy that has had a huge influence on the person she is today - an 42

entertainer who likes to make people feel welcome. “My parents wanted me to be a lawyer, there was definitely an encouragement to use my voice for good,” she explains. “And I still think I help people but in a different way, a very social way.”

apply,” she says. “It’s pretty romantic to work for a company that has been built on a foundation of service. Successful businesses in the restaurant industry get the grand picture, which is the moments that you’re creating for people, and I like to be a part of that,” she adds.

Graduating Western University with a political science degree, in 2000 Kho spent a year travelling and living in Australia, before taking a leap of faith and moving to Calgary. Here, she studied wine with the International Sommeliers Guild and WSET, but says her real education was a job she adored, working in the wine trade at BIN 905, in tandem with running wine programs for CRMR restaurants. It was only when the opportunity came to create the wine program at Vin Room, six years later, that Kho leapt at the challenge of a new idea for the city, and spent four happy years there.

So what bottle is Kho saving for a special occasion?

Eventually, she and her partner decided to stretch their wings, and went to Vancouver where Kho embarked on a six-month culinary course at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, ticking off another box on her bucket list. “I wanted a greater understanding of technique in the kitchen, and I wanted an understanding of what service on a very basic level would look like if I ever owned my own place, and ever had to be the person who filled in,” she says. “I feel if I was ever in a place that needed someone to chop onions, I’m your woman,” she laughs.

A year later, the pair came back with the idea of eventually opening their own business in Calgary. “The support we get from this community is heartfelt, and this is a city of opportunity. People with the right concept are seeing a lot of great success; it’s still our game plan,” she says.

Meanwhile Kho applied only to Teatro, where she is now Group Service Director.

“I wanted to work at a place that had a challenging wine program, and had a level of service with high expectations, and where professional service teams

Paying homage to her time at BIN 905, Kho explains, “I have a bottle of 1996 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which was given to me with some very kind words on my last day at BIN. I’ve always just appreciated my time there; it was where I learned the vernacular of wine, and it’s my first job where I really saw the benefits of serving people with intention.” She continues, “I always see it thankfully as the stepping-stone to a broader wine profession, and eventually to the position that I have now. It was given to me by very close friends that I’m still friends with to this day.”

And when is she planning to open the wine?

“When (partner) Dave and I open our own restaurant,” Kho says. This isn’t something that something that will happen tomorrow, but fortunately the wine will last until they’re ready!

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